Beth Ann Rosica’s writings are a blend of news, opinion, and analysis.
Today marks the 54th anniversary of Title IX, the landmark civil rights law enacted to protect girls and women from discrimination and guarantee them equal opportunities in education. For decades, Title IX opened doors for female students, expanded athletic opportunities, and protected sex-based rights and privacy. Yet in a stunning reversal of its original purpose, the law is now being used by some policymakers and school districts to erode the very protections it was designed to secure, leaving many girls and women wondering who, if anyone, is still willing to defend their rights.
Enacted in 1972, Title IX applies broadly to schools, colleges, and universities that receive federal funding and was designed to prohibit sex-based discrimination in areas such as admissions, athletics, financial aid and scholarships, academic opportunities, and housing. Birch Bayh, a U.S. Democratic Senator from Indiana who sponsored and authored much of the legislation, described Title IX as a way to eliminate “the continuation of corrosive and unjustified discrimination against women in the American educational system.”
Senator Bayh passed away in 2019 and would likely be surprised, if not shocked, at the current interpretations of Title IX, particularly in the state of Pennsylvania.
In our commonwealth today, female students are subjected to sharing bathrooms and locker rooms with male students. Girls are forced to compete against boys in high school sports, often losing college scholarship opportunities. Many school districts across the state have policies supporting or mandating these practices.
The situation has become so dire that some legislators are trying to pass the Save Women’s Sports Act to stop this nonsensical interpretation of Title IX. While 54 years ago the Democrats led the way to protect girls and women, today, specifically in Pennsylvania, they are the ones failing females. Currently Republicans, along with a few commonsense Democrats, are fighting to protect girls.
Sponsored by Republican Senator Judy Ward, the senate passed the Save Women’s Sports Act over a year ago with every Republican voting yes, joined by five brave Democrats. However, the bill is now stalled due to a variety of manipulative tactics in the House of Representatives. Characterized as “Committee Roulette” by the Pennsylvania Family Council, the Democratic majority in the House spent the last year kicking the bill around to five different committees to avoid a full House vote.
Just last week, the House Health Committee re-referred the bill back to the Judiciary Committee — the same committee that re-referred the Act to the Children and Youth Committee last March. The flowchart below depicts the shenanigans employed by some Democrats in the various House committees. The Act has now been sent to five different committees and is making its way back around to the same committees for a second time.
Pennsylvania Family Council’s Chief Strategy Officer Dan Bartkowiak called out the House tactics.
“Five committees. Five referrals. Zero votes,” said Bartkowiak. “At this point, the House Health Committee should just admit it’s running a game show called Committee Roulette… This is what governing looks like when political calculations matter more than transparency. If House Democrats are confident Pennsylvanians agree with them, they should stop spinning the wheel, stop playing games with women and girls, and let elected representatives cast an up-or-down vote on the Save Women’s Sports Act.”
Payton McNabb is a former college athlete who was struck in the head by a powerful spike from an opposing male player, resulting in a traumatic brain injury that ended her college athletic career. She currently serves as an Independent Women ambassador and speaks out against boys competing in girls sports.
“As we celebrate the 54th anniversary of Title IX, it’s disappointing that some lawmakers continue delaying a vote on legislation designed to protect women’s sports,” said McNabb in response to the Pennsylvania House antics. “Title IX was created to ensure equal opportunities for women and girls, and that promise depends on preserving fair competition based on sex. As an athlete who has personally experienced the consequences of policies that ignore those differences, I believe every girl deserves a fair and safe opportunity to compete. Delaying a vote doesn’t change the reality that female athletes are asking their leaders to stand up for the protections Title IX was intended to provide.”
Holly Magalengo is a mother of two teenage girls in Bucks County who filed a lawsuit on behalf of her daughter because she was forced to compete against a male athlete in multiple cross country and track meets while in high school. She attended the committee meeting last week with her daughters and left “fuming.”
“My two daughters who attended were able to see a full failure of our democratic system in real time,” said Magalengo. “The House Health Committee meeting revealed a disappointing failure of leadership from the Democratic majority. By actively avoiding a vote on this common sense legislation, these officials are neglecting the fundamental duties of their office.”
Magalengo is working with parents from across the state to help educate people about what is really at stake for girls and women.
“Our team remains focused on coordinating efforts with a politically diverse coalition of organizations dedicated to preserving women’s athletics and single-sex spaces. Pennsylvanians from the far-left, to moderates, to the far-right are uniting around this cause. The current political climate in Harrisburg demonstrates exactly why legal challenges must continue to protect females until the Democratic majority stops stalling and sends these bills to the floor for a full vote.”
Magalengo and team at a track meet advocating for the Save Women’s Sports Act. Photo courtesy of Magalengo.
Meanwhile across the state of Pennsylvania, girls and women are regularly subjected to competing against boys and men and sharing bathrooms and locker rooms with them, resulting in a number of filed complaints.
Most recently in Upper Perkiomen School District, Jan Madeira filed a Title IX complaint because her daughter was upset after a male student was allowed to use the girls’ bathroom in her presence. The district does not have a policy that addresses the use of bathrooms; however, the accepted practice appears to allow students to use the bathroom of their choice.
“Many parents are concerned about policies that allow biological males to use girls’ bathrooms because they believe these spaces should remain separated by sex to protect privacy and comfort for all students,” said Madira. “For many families, this is not about hostility toward any individual student; it is about recognizing that adolescent girls may feel uncomfortable sharing intimate facilities such as bathrooms and locker rooms with biological males. Parents are asking school leaders to develop policies that respect the dignity of every student while also preserving privacy, safety, and parental expectations regarding sex-separated spaces.”
Upper Perkiomen did not return a request for comment, and Madeira has a meeting today with the district regarding her complaint.
Alexis Pasternak, a parent in the Haverford School District, filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights as a result of its policy for transgender students. Unlike Upper Perkiomen, Haverford’s policy specifically mandates that transgender students may use the bathroom and locker room of their choice, in addition to competing on the athletic team of their choice.
Pasternak is also disgusted with the House tactics.
“In 2022, HB972 Fairness in Women’s Sports Act passed the House and the Senate. Governor Wolf ultimately vetoed it but at least we knew where our representative stood,” said Pasternak. “Why the games this time around? We deserve to know where our representatives stand in 2026, and should any of these bills get to Governor Shapiro’s desk, where he stands as well.”
Bruce Chambers, a resident and former Great Valley School Board Director in Chester County also filed a federal complaint against the district over a very similar policy as Haverford’s that allows male students to use the girls’ bathroom and locker room and to compete on the athletic team of their choosing.
“I filed my Civil Rights complaint against the Great Valley School District last year after reading that the Office of Civil Rights was already pursuing investigations of school districts around the country that were implementing policies identical to the policies at Great Valley,” said Chambers. “It is common sense to note that Title IX concerns sex, not what a male or female student may think they are. Utilizing no common sense at all, the Great Valley School Board developed the policy that states that transgender or gender expansive students may use the restroom and locker room that matches their gender identity and participate in sports teams and other activities that correspond to their identity, including sleeping arrangements on overnight trips.”
Both federal complaints are currently under investigation.
Fifty-four years ago, Title IX was a bipartisan promise that girls and women would no longer be treated as second-class citizens in education. Today, that promise is being tested. The question facing Pennsylvania lawmakers is simple: will they uphold the law’s original purpose and protect the rights of female students, or will they continue to delay, deflect, and avoid accountability? Girls across the Commonwealth deserve an answer — and they deserve a vote. History will remember who stood up for them and who stood in the way.
Beth Ann Rosica resides in West Chester, has a Ph.D. in Education, and has dedicated her career to advocating on behalf of at-risk children and families. She covers education issues for Broad + Liberty. Contact her at [email protected].